Tag: God's Promises

I Am Pondering the Promises of God. I Am Pondering the Goodness of God!

In the mid to late 90’s people in the church began to say God is good— all the time— all the time—God is good. It’s easy to proclaim and to shout aloud the goodness of God when things are going great! Except life is not all about what goes good but what goes goofy too. What about when we just get mad at God?

“God is good, all the time; all of the time, God is good,” is a popular phrase used in the course of worship by many pastors, leaders, and believers. “Good” is who God is, what He does, and what we experience on His behalf. God, in His infinite goodness, is sovereign over every circumstance. He proclaimed each note of His creation, “good.” God purposefully brings every human life into existence upon the earth, intended for “good” works to bring glory and honor to His name.

We take as our text today, Psalm 65

Psalm 65 HCSB

God’s Care for the Earth

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. A song.

1 Praise is rightfully Yours,[a]
God, in Zion;
vows to You will be fulfilled.
2 All humanity will come to You,
the One who hears prayer.
3 Iniquities overwhelm me;
only You can atone for[b] our rebellions.
4 How happy is the one You choose
and bring near to live in Your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
the holiness of Your temple.[c]

5 You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.
6 You establish the mountains by Your[d] power,
robed with strength.
7 You silence the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.
8 Those who live far away are awed by Your signs;
You make east and west shout for joy.

9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for You prepare the earth[e] in this way,
providing people with grain.
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness;
Your ways overflow with plenty.[f]
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Our passage in Psalm 65 is a celebration of God’s goodness. It is a call to count our blessings. It is a reminder to cultivate thanksgiving and give praise to God for all that He has done for us and all that He is doing for us. “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to [the Lord] . . .” (Ps. 92:1). Psalm 65  instructs us in how to do that. It leads us in a celebration of God’s providential care and provision. It leads us to ponder the goodness of God in our existence.

Psalm 65 is another psalm penned by David. This psalm and song centers around describing the great blessings of God. As we can see in verse 1, this is a psalm of praise for the great wonders and works of God through creation.

We will see David praise God for God’s grace, God’s might, and God’s prosperity to humanity. This is a worship psalm that could have been sung at any time. But due to the language of fulfilling vows and receiving plentiful harvests, this was like a psalm used during the Feast of Tabernacles.

This feast was one of the most joyful feasts of the Jewish people, lasting eight days in which the people of Israel celebrated the abundance of the harvest crops. Further, this is only one of three psalms that uses the word “atone” or “atonement.” This helps us tie this psalm to the Feast of Tabernacles because the Day of Atonement occurred five days before the Feast of Tabernacles.

God of Grace (65:1-4)

The psalm begins with David declaring that praise rightfully belongs to God in Zion. The psalm begins with what seems to be a very nationalistic psalm about the people of Israel and their feasts and offerings being performed at the sanctuary in Jerusalem. But verse 2 expands this worship psalm to all people. “O you who hears prayer; to you shall all flesh come” (ESV). This psalm expresses the universal need to come to God. All people on the earth, not just the Jewish people, not just God’s chosen people, everyone must come to God.

Verse 3 describes the crux of the problem for humanity. “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions”(ESV). When we read these words before the coming of Christ, we recognize that this is what the people of Israel understood the goodness of God is to be doing for them all.

The people recognized that their sins were against them and that God was making atonement for their sins. God was willing to make a covering for our sins. Notice that David does not say that the animals sacrificed atone for the people’s transgressions. David knew better than this. He says that it is God who is covering over the people’s sins.

David is declaring what Paul would would a thousand years later be teaching to the Ephesians: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

The day would one day come when the people needed to know and to also experience ONE Savior. God continued to show mercy toward the people by covering over their sins. But justification for God’s favorable treatment of us had to come through the death of His own Son. One of the inescapable roles of the Messiah was to come to the people of Israel and save them from their sins.

But there is another blessing that comes from the God of grace. Not only were the people’s sins covered, but the people could be brought near to God. “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!”

This is an incredibly beautiful picture of our ability to come near to God. Can you or I imagine what a source of confidence it was to the people to have God dwelling in the center of the camp? God dwelling in the tabernacle. A cloud over the tabernacle in the day and a fire over the tabernacle at night.

God was with his people and it was a great blessing to see God dwelling in their midst each day. “We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” The connection is that when God is near us, we can be relationally satisfied. We will find abundant provisions from the Lord when we remain near the Lord. God’s goodness overflows from his presence. Goodness and righteousness surround God and we all ought to desire to be near it all.

God of Might (65:5-8)

The second section of this psalm describes the power and might of the Lord. This stanza mentions two specific displays of God’s power in the earth. In verse 6 we read, “The one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might.” The mountains of the earth show God’s power and might.

We cannot move the mountains. It is a feat for us just to blaze a tunnel through a mighty mountain. The mountains of Yosemite speak to the power of God. The lofty expanse of the Rocky Mountains shows God’s might. To stand on top of any of the mountains of the earth is an indescribable majestic experience. God put these mountains on the earth to show his might.

The second way God shows his might is described in verse 7: “Who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.” The waves of the ocean are absolutely fascinating when you consider their power.

The power of a wave is unbelievable. Stand in the ocean and notice how a wave will push you back. Even with all of your might to walk forward, you will be pushed back by the ocean’s waves. Dive under a wave and you will feel the great force of it as it passes. One of my fondest memories as a child was the sound of the waves. Mom and Dad would pull into the beach parking lot and when you opened the door, you could hear the sound of the waves crashing. A calming yet powerful sound of the waves crashing on the shore reminds us of God’s power.

Why does the psalmist record these events in nature? Verse 8 tells us that we are to be in awe of the signs of God. These things exist so that we would seek after God. These are permanent signs that our parents enjoyed, that we enjoy, and that generations of children and their children’s children can enjoy.

All of it speaks to the power of God. The power is there to show us something very important. Notice verse 5: “By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas” (65:5; ESV). These things powerfully remind us of God’s power to answer prayer. David is telling us to look at the earth to see what good God can, will do, and remember that this same power is working to answer us.

God of Prosperity (65:9-13)

The third and final section of this psalm describes the bountifulness of God to his people. In these contemporary days, We are not much of an agrarian society as ancient Israel anymore. So, here, we need to place ourselves back in history as good people who lived off of the land and farmed it for sustenance and pay.

The first part describes the watering of the land for crops. David declares that it is God who visits the earth and waters it. This brings about the grain from planting. Further, God brings the showers on the earth to soften it for farming, by which people receive the blessing of growth from their harvest.

In verse 11 David continues by describing the harvest that people enjoy because God has made the earth profitable. Isn’t it interesting the different type of soils that exist on the earth so that all sorts of crops can be planted and harvested? This is not random chance but a thoughtful God who has prepared these things for humanity. Verses 12-13 describe the blessings of God as the pastures and the hills are made ready for the animals to eat and find provision. The earth is made ready by God for the people to harvest.

One of the keys to this section is the description of the abundance of the harvest. In verse 9, “you greatly enrich it” and “the river of God is full of water.” Notice verse 10, “You water its furrows abundantly.” Verse 11, “You crown the year with your bounty” and “your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.” Here is a picture of the cart having so much crop that some of the harvest is falling off the cart and being left behind on the ground. Finally, in verse 12 we read, “The pastures of the wilderness overflow.” This final section is all about how God blesses abundantly. God is not the least bit stingy when he does these things for the earth. God is overflowing with blessings to all flesh.

Tomorrow, we will expand on this Psalm to explore its applications for us today too also strive to identify several ways we can turn to to recognize the goodness of God on a daily basis. The challenges of our days merits such an examination.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us enter into Prayer,

God of life and love We rejoice in your abundant gifts God of all peoples and all places We celebrate your generosity and grace God of the earth and the heavens We praise you for your provision You visit the earth and water it Softening it with showers and blessing its growth You compel springs to gush forth in the valleys From your lofty abode you water the mountains God of life and love We thank you for your abundant goodness and mercy as we bless your holy name!

A Promise is A Promise is A Promise: God’s Promises Light Up Our Tunnel!

“Due to the current financial constraints, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off for the foreseeable future!” “With the raising costs of energy and our budget already constrained beyond its reasonable limits, with no desire to enter bankruptcy anytime or ever ….” so reads a notice on a local notice board. 

Someone has deemed it necessary to shut off the light at the end of our tunnel! With no expressed promise the light will ever be turned on again? How does it sound for someone contending for a gold medal in ultimate pessimism? Not one press release extending hope will be forthcoming from anyone in any authority!

Now, who has the right to make such a statement? Who has both of their hands on the switch which permanently shuts off down Tunnel of Hope’s power grid?

Answer is quite obviously – no one! Nobody can take away the power of hope unless you let him.  Hope is as essential to life as oxygen is to your human body.

Yet, how can we find even the slightest evidence of hope in “impossible” times?

Stand in God for He will be with you now and forever. When we are laid low, He is the ONE with the power to stand us up, He watches over you and He shields you. Pray! Do not be afraid for He is the never ending source of your strength.

Job 5:1-11 HCSB

5 Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones will you turn to?
2 For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.[a]
The thirsty[b] pant for his children’s wealth.
6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 But mankind is born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to Him.
9 He does great and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields.
11 He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Job’s life has been turned completely upside down and utterly backwards. His children are all “suddenly dead.” All of his vast storehouses of property and wealth have suddenly evaporated. And if things seemingly could not get any worse, his whole body is afflicted by weeping sores and his wife tells him to “just curse God” and go off somewhere all by yourself and end it all and die. From every possible blessing he could hope for to every curse he did not want.

In the twinkling of an eye someone has pulled the switch on the light in Job’s tunnel. At the snap of some finger from somewhere Job could not identify, his very existence was unceremoniously thrown into chaos. He could not identify who it was who had done such a thing without even one warning whatsoever. Now, he is thrown into a situation where he must figure out; “what’s next?” Where does one even begin, aside from “cursing God and dying” to answer it?

Can you hear Job’s Lament across the great expanse of time from his wilderness unto these contemporary times where it seems Covid pandemic has turned off the lights at the end of too many of our tunnels? Where the economics does not yet support giving someone the authority and the power to turn them back on? It is crystal clear that there is nowhere on earth where our tunnels are all lit up at the same time! Do we hear our Lament coming from those darkened tunnels?

Psalm 42

Longing for God!

1 As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for You, God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 I remember this as I pour out my heart:
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.

5 Why am I so depressed?
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.
6 I[a] am deeply depressed;
therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls;
all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.
8 The Lord will send His faithful love by day;
His song will be with me in the night—
a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
10 My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so depressed?
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.

Do you ever ask yourself, “Why am I so down?” “Why should I trust in any of the Promises of God to change anything? Is my answer because God has “failed me?  Has He gone home, and turned off voice mail for a little uncluttered time? 

No–of course not.  Is it because He is powerless to minimally change the angle of trajectory of the circumstances which now greatly trouble you? In effect, my worry says, “God, my problem is bigger than You are.  I’m not sure that You can handle any of this for me, so I guess I am on my own to figure this thing out.” “Why should I even put one ounce of my hope into thinking my God’s hope is by far, way bigger and higher than the depths of my sorrow in my life right now?”

Can anybody turn out the light at the end of the tunnel? Have I given anyone my permission to temporarily or permanently flip the switch on my tunnel of hope? Nope! –but somebody or something can surely stand between me and the light of my Savior Jesus Christ, blocking His radiance throwing shadows everywhere.

And as much or as little as it has happened to you, if it has happened to you or even to someone you have come to love, care a great deal about, there’s only one thing to do: Return to the Promise of Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5)!  Get rid of that pessimism, Pray God and the Holy Spirit directly into that situation. Go straight to the heart of the matter (Joshua 1:1-9).  Push your way past, but get focused on the forever visible light of Jesus Christ at the end of your tunnel.

The first step is making the decision to get on with life and do something about your gloom.  I don’t know who wrote the following which someone gave to me, but I do know I like what the author wrote.  It’s entitled, “Today,” and it goes:

“And only I can determine/ What kind of day it will be./ It can be busy and sunny, laughing/ and gay; or boring and cold, unhappy and gray./ My own state of mind is the determining key,/ For I am only the person I let myself be./ I can be thoughtful and do all I can to help,/ Or be selfish and think just of myself./ I can enjoy what I do and make it seem fun;/ Or gripe and complain and make it hard on someone./ I can be patient with those who may not understand/ Or belittle and hurt them as much as I can./ But, I have faith in myself and/ believe what I say/ And I personally intend to MAKE, GIVE, GOD THE BEST OF TODAY.”

The Psalmists response was the “full throated” determination to yet praise Him whom he called “my Savior and my God.” God did not leave David in any cave of depression and gloom.  He eventually led him back home and to God’s throne.

Job’s response, his own personal affirmation of faith immediately afterwards:

Job 1:20-21 (HCSB)

20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head.[a] He fell to the ground and worshiped, 21 saying:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will leave this life.[b]
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.
Praise the name of Yahweh.

To which he would later build upon with,

Job 19:19-27 (HCSB)

19 All of my best friends[a] despise me,
and those I love have turned against me.
20 My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

21 Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
for God’s hand has struck me.
22 Why do you persecute me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

23 I wish that my words were written down,
that they were recorded on a scroll
24 or were inscribed in stone forever
by an iron stylus and lead!
25 But I know my living Redeemer,[b]
and He will stand on the dust[c] at last.[d]
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,[e]
yet I will see God in[f] my flesh.
27 I will see Him myself;
my eyes will look at Him, and not as a stranger.[g]
My heart longs[h] within me.

I am convinced that only we ourselves can allow clouds and shadows to obscure the light at the end of our tunnels of hope. Praising God for what He is and what He has done, what HE HAS PROMISED TO DO allows us to realize He is the light at the end of the tunnel and nothing can obscure that when we stay focused on Him. This turns despair to hope–something you and I can learn for ourselves.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us now PRAY;

Prayer:  I Have Hope

God, my soul is sad. My heart is hopeless.  I’m frowning within and without. But I know the cure. The crack in my heart can be mended by you. The thirst in my throat can be quenched by you.  How refreshing you are! I spend a few minutes in worship and you will fulfill your promise made to the Psalmist to abundantly replace everything that is missing. You rehydrate my heart. You rehydrate my hope! You replenish my depleted spirit. So I’m telling my soul, “Cheer up!” I’m counseling my heart, “I Have hope!” For you, my God, are all I need and more. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. “Promises, Promises.”

A Promise is a Promise is a Promise!

Promises, Promises, Promises!

What is the real meaning of Promise?

A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun promise means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity for good, similar to a value that is to be realized in the near future.

How does the Bible define promise?

In the New Covenant scriptures, promise (epangelia) (https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/luk/24/49/t_conc_997049) is used in the sense of God’s design to visit his people redemptively in the person of his son Jesus Christ. W. E. Vine says that a promise is “a gift graciously bestowed, not a pledge secured by negotiation.”

Luke 24:49 NASB (The Only Time in the Gospels a Promise is made by Jesus)

49 And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Why do we promise?

Fulfilling promises to yourself to do better or be better is just as important as following through on your promises to others. When you make a promise to yourself, you are taking the time to work towards improving your life. When we work on ourselves, it gives us the ability to better take care of others.

What are the Seven Promises of God?

  • I am your strength.
  • I will never leave you.
  • I have plans for you to prosper.
  • I hear your prayers.
  • I will fight for you.
  • I will give you peace.
  • I will always love you.

How many believe God can answer every prayer request, no matter what?

Isaiah 55:6 NASB

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.

Matthew 21:21-22 NASB

21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive it all.”

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

How many here can genuinely say, with 100% blessed assurance they 100% truly believe God can answer their prayers, no matter what may come along?

If there is a hesitation in your spirit, when you hear that question asked, there shouldn’t be, should there?

I mean, do some of us really, seriously think that our problems and situations are impossibly harder for God to answer and then work out, than the problems, needs, wants and desires of our friends and neighbors!

Should we not expect, as great or greater miracles to be done in our lives, than the fantastic miracles we read about in the Bible?

If we believe the promise of the scripture and we can take Jesus at His Word, we should! We ought to do so without any hesitation or without purpose of evasion.

Well, I do not know that’s setting the bar awfully high, Reading through each of the Gospel Narratives, Can we not say Jesus did some pretty amazing things?

And I would say to that…….you are more than just a little bit correct with that summation, His actions were and are 100% amazing, His words were and are also quite amazing, everything about what we read of Jesus is 100% Amazing!

For myself, this Word from John’s Gospel Narrative transcends 100% amazing.

John 1:1-5 NASB

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him [b]not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [c]grasp it.

I share this next passage of scripture with you, because I so much want you to realize, truly “beyond 100%” we have been given by God, through and by our relationship with God, that we have with His Son, Jesus, our Lord and Savior!

John 14:7-15 NASB

Oneness with the Father

7 If you [a]had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8 Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been with [b]you for so long a time, and yet [c]you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. 12 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God’s capabilities!

God wants to bless and give to His Children! Are you, right now, a child of the most high God?

Well then Let me say that again, with Greater Clarification!

“God…….wants…….to…….Bless…….you….and…..Give…….to……you!!

Do you believe you are beyond 100% blessed by the abundance of God?

You should, before your feet ever hit the ground in the morning you need to remember and declare God this amazing truth, “God has already prepared uncountable blessings, all waiting for you to arrive at each and every day!”

God not only wants to Bless you, God is willing to go to greatest length’s to do whatever it takes to make your request and desires come to fruition!

Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of Gods capabilities!

Absolutely everything? Yes everything! Every single solitary concern! To Be Sure and absolutely assured. all of Gods promises, are Yes and Amen!

God is very aware of how much power His Words possess, when you proclaim them and speak them in and over your life!

Do you know what happens when you make promises?

You’re held accountable and expected to keep them aren’t you?

God can never, God would have never made any promises, if He did not mean them and utterly intend on keeping every single one of them and being 100+% true and responsible for each and every one of them! Who of us could say that?

Isaiah 55:8-11 HCSB

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,
so My ways are higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,
11 so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do.”

In this moment, as I am listening to my Pastor and several of my brothers and sisters in Christ praying to and praising God, I am thinking about a lot of things.

So many Prayer requests, so many praise reports, and the great number of things on my to do list and the shorter hours of day light to accomplish them. Looking forward or backwards to the time change coming up again in a short matter of days, the “Day Light Savings Time” which takes place twice a year.

Altering time…….after thousands of years of trying by man, a simple law by congress, somehow, we made it a reality, well at least upon paper anyways.

Man trying to manipulate the works of God to achieve his end! Man has never had an original thought that was not Gods idea or thought, in the first place.

I remember reading a story some years ago,

The famous American author, Samuel Clement, Mark Twain, attended a Sunday service. He met the preacher at the door afterward to shake his hand. And he told him that he had a book at home with every word he had preached that morning.

The minister assured him that his sermon that morning was an original. But Twain was adamant. The preacher asked to see the book. So, Twain sent it over the next day. When the preacher opened the package he found a dictionary. And inside the cover Twain had written, “Words, just words.”

Jeremiah 23:28-30 HCSB

28 The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 29 “Is not My word like fire”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and like a hammer that pulverizes rock? 30 Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets”—the Lord’s declaration—“who steal My words from each other.

Jeremiah 32:26-27 HCSB

26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “Look, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?

One word from man may help for a moment, One Word from God, is all that you and I will ever need! One word from God, can and will propel you to victory your whole life long and shower you with beyond a lifetime of His Grace and Favor!

God is omnipresent, which means; always present everywhere: continuously and simultaneously present throughout the whole of creation.

God knows no time, because He owns time! He can start time He can stop time!

If God chooses He can make more time, or speed up or slow down time!

He has already been to the future, there is no place in time God hasn’t already inhabited.

God has already been at this very moment, where we are at right now…….thousands of years ago and maybe even as recent as yesterday.

Absolutely everything all of the time, ranging from small to large, as you and I make it an essential part of our believing prayer, gets included as we lay hold of, as we come to possess the God given strength to grasp each of Gods capabilities!

There is power, there is life, there is Victory in His words! There is power, there is life, there is Victory in your words when you believe and declare His Words!

Is there no length, that God will not go to for His Children?

Is there nothing that God won’t do for those that Love Him?

Is there nothing that is not possible, when you put your faith and trust in God?

Praise God, shout Hallelujah, God is a prayer answering God!

Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God.”

Is there nothing that God can’t and won’t do for His Children? The answer is no, nothing is to large a task for The God Of All Things Possible!!

Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you and I lay 100+% hold of God.

The scoffers still say that was then, that was a long time ago, yes it was, in our limited way of thinking and understanding, yes it was.

But to the God of unlimited possibilities, to the God who knows no time constraints and is not bound by our understanding of time. For all we know, the battle at Gibeon could have happened, in Gods realm of possibilities, as recent as just yesterday!

What we do know is this, Gods Word is true, God is not a respecter of persons, Gods Word never returns void and there is just as much power in the words of that time stopping miracle today, as the day it happened!

God is the same yesterday, today and forever! The amazing this battle took place before the promise of Jesus, was delivered.

How much more is possible in our lives, for us who have received the Promise of the salvation message Jesus offers?

Whatever you hath need of today, is 100+% possible, when you put 100+% of your hope, your faith and trust in God, through your relationship with Jesus!

What Jesus has available to Him, we have available to us. As Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life of and in this world or these are not just words that we will only find in the dictionary! Those words are God’s biblical declaration, that life changing declaration is 100+% promise from the God of all things possible!

The Everlasting God, the Great I Am who not only makes Promises, but also absolutely Keeps His Word!

Start declaring and proclaiming God’s Promises over your life, God’s Words over your every situation. Something supernatural happens when you release God’s Words over your life into the atmosphere!

They go relentlessly to work accomplishing everything their assigned to do, until. Until they complete the assignment!

There is power, there is life, there is Victory in His words!

There is power, there is life, there is Victory in your words when you believe and declare His Words!

*Life giving,

*life altering!

*life changing!

*life extending!

*abundant 100+% far, above and beyond life to be lived starting right now!

Alleluia? Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Amen? Amen!

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us now Pray,

Psalm 100 HCSB

Be Thankful

A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
3 Acknowledge that Yahweh is God.
He made us, and we are His[a] —
His people, the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal;
His faithfulness endures through all generations.

For Whatever was Written in Former Days ….. Part 1, Can we Claim the Old Testament Covenant in these Times?

Not too long ago, this question came up in a bible study. Can an Old Testament Covenant promise of God made specifically to Israel be claimed by Christians?

On the surface, it would seem rather obvious the answer is; “of course we can!”

Perhaps, what seems rather obvious today, may not be really that. A new phrase has been introduced and sledge hammered into our psyche lately; “Fake News!”

While the obvious may remain exactly that despite that phrase, Claiming one of God’s Covenants in our 21st century, requires further discovery and exploration.

Let’s turn to the Word of God to a familiar text from Genesis – Noah’s Covenant.

Genesis 9:8-17 NKJV

8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your [a]descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Amen.

There are many promises of God in the Biblical text. Some are given to specific individuals, such as Abraham, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon. There are also many promises given to entire groups of people and even unto nations. God would seal His promises by making a covenant, which is a conditional contract, with them.

I am one of those who believes that the Bible is not written to us but is for us. People often fall into the trap of what is known as eisegesis, which is reading words and passages in the Bible and applying them to their own circumstances and surroundings without looking at the grammatical and historical context, which is known as exegesis. I was once told by a Pastor mentor that the three major rules of diligently studying the Bible are context, context, and context.

The word “covenant” (Heb:berith) means alliance, a divine ordinance with signs or pledges between God and humanity and first appears in Genesis 6. The word is used with reference to God’s creative and providential activity where He showed Himself to be completely faithful (Jeremiah 33:20,25; Genesis 8:22).

The standard Hebrew phrase (ka·ra berith) is used of God’s covenant with humanity (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 24:8; Deuteronomy 4:23; 5:2; 2 Kings 17:15; Jeremiah 11:10; Ezekiel 34:25),

but the emphasis is laid on the initiative of God by the use of the verbs;

“Establish” in Genesis 6:18; 9:11; 17:7; etc.,

“Grant” in Genesis 9:12; 17:2; Numbers 25:12,

“Set Down” in 2 Samuel 23:5,

“Command” in Joshua 7:11; 23:16; 1 Kings 11:11.

All these verbs at times have as their objects the noun ‘berith’ (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1285/kjv/wlc/0-1/.

In addition, there are numerous references to GOD having “commanded” and given only Israel a “law,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “judgments,” etc. Israel alone was expected to “obey” God’s word of command, to “keep” His covenant, to “remember” it, to “do” it, and to “walk in” it.

However, the Bible shows that Israel “forgot” the covenant, “broke” it, “sinned against” it, “rejected” it, “transgressed” it, and “profaned” it, and as a result, experienced the curses of the broken covenant in the form of natural calamities, war, sickness, exile, and death. Had Israel kept the covenant, it might have enjoyed the blessings of the covenant instead (Lev 26; Deuteronomy 27-28).

God made covenants with individuals such as Noah that affected the entire Earth. God was so pleased with Noah that He said in His heart “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the Earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

God blessed Noah and his sons and said only to them,

“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth. (Genesis 9:7)

It was God who took the initiative to make a covenant with Noah. God’s single promise to Noah was there would never again be a rainstorm causing a FLOOD that would cover the entire Earth, and He signed His promise with a rainbow.

God also made a single covenant with Abraham where He promised a land and descendants to him as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sands upon the sea shores. and he was summarily commanded to “keep” the covenant (Genesis 15:7-21, Genesis 17:1-14, Genesis 22:15-19).

When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God said to Him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,” so that He would make a covenant with Abraham that would multiply him greatly.”

Abraham fell on his face before God, who then said to him that His covenant was with him alone, and that he would be the father of many offspring and give him all the land he traveled, including all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and that he would be their God.

God also told Abraham that he and his offspring must keep His everlasting covenant by having every male be circumcised when they are eight days and if they are not throughout the generations they shall be cut off from his people because they broke the covenant. The faith obedience of Abraham was not a condition of the covenant but rather his expected response inside a religious relationship. There could be no blessings and no fellowship without obedience.

God also made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai (Horeb) after He reminded them of His divine acts and His call to obey Him. Then, GOD established Israel alone as a “peculiar treasure,” a “kingdom of priests,” and a “holy nation,” and gave them stipulations that would guarantee the continuance of fellowship between them and He. The covenant was ratified by an animal sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood (Exodus 24:4-8).

God established a covenant with King David and promised him that his direct descendants would have an everlasting kingdom and be known as his sons (2 Samuel 7:12-17; Psalm 89:3,26,34; Psalm 132:11; 2 Samuel 23:5; Isaiah 55:3).

God kept His Covenant Promise – Our Savior Jesus came from the line of David.

God made a promise to King David’s son, Solomon. He appeared to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple and declared it would be the place where all Israelites were to bring their burnt-offerings and sacrifices. God tells Solomon that has heard his prayer and says after he built and dedicated the Temple to the Lord (2 Chronicles 6, 7:1-22).

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

The words “my name” refers specifically to the entire nation which was called by God (El), Isra-El, translated “those who struggled with El” or God.

They were a Theocratic nation and not a minority of true believers within the nation. Isra-El had a unique supernatural covenant with God that He initiated from His side. No other nation had that privilege. Their laws and constitution were the first 5 books of Moses called Torah. Any citizen that worshipped another God or prophesied in the name of another God was killed as part of their theocratic covenant.

In the immediate context of the verse noted, God spoke to Israel’s king, saying Israel should obey the Lord’s covenant. God was specifically pointing him back to the covenant that He made with his forefather Abraham. At a specific point in the history of Israel, God told Abraham about his descendants, saying, “I will be their God” and “They will be my people.” That’s what “My people” means.

God reminded a people who had been exiled, enslaved, and defeated that a rebuilt temple or a displaced nation cannot change who they were. They were God’s chosen people and would definitely see the future God has for them.

God had chosen the Temple built by Solomon to be a house of sacrifice (verse 7:12, 15-16) for the people, Israel He had chosen (descendants of Abraham). If there were to come a time when God withholds rain or sends plagues on the land (v7:13), the people are covenanted to pray, with the text seeming to imply this time of covenanted community prayer would happen there specifically.

If the people prayed, did as God commanded, then He would respond, and they would enjoy the abundant blessings of the covenant which included the healing/restoration and fruitfulness of the physical land itself (verse 7:14).

However, if they disobeyed, God would “shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people” (verses 19-20). This is part of the covenant that God made through the ministry of Moses with the people.

A similar promise of physical blessings was made by God previously to Israel if they remained faithfully obedient to His covenant and also what the negative consequences were if they did not (Deuteronomy 28:1-6, 8, also Leviticus 26). The King of Israel and his people are to keep the covenant with God, and in doing so, He would abundantly bless them, even the very land of Israel itself.

The Old Testament is about Hebrews in ancient Israel who receive Old Covenant promises. The New Testament is about people receiving God’s New Covenant promises. The book of John demonstrates that the promises and blessings given to New Covenant people, those who are Born-Again, are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is the better Temple, people, sacrifice, high priest, etc. God made the New Testament Covenant which builds upon the Old Testament covenants, which were given to different peoples of God that were dealt with differently by God.

It was at the Cross where Jesus died, and then was raised from the dead after three days, that the old covenant of Law passed away in its entirety, and every person who becomes Born-Again are then under the new Covenant of grace (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Galatians 3:15-4:7; Romans 6:14-15; 7:4-6; Hebrews 8:1-10:18). The Old Testament is still the Word of God, and along with the Gospel and the New Testament writings of Paul, Peter, Jude, James, John, are the final authority as the infallible, inerrant Word that was divinely breathed out by God.

The Born-Again Christian is no longer under the requirements of the Law and stipulations of the old covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8-13).

They are grafted into the vine of Israel (John 15:1-11), the people of God, and become with them, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” because they were once not His people, but, through Jesus Christ, they become “God’s people” (Romans 11:17-24; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

Rabbi Jesus said that all 613 laws of the Old Testament (365 thou shalt not’s and 248 thou shalt’s, or thou art surely in big trouble!) depend on just two laws which are really one and the same, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”… and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34). The law all pointed to fulfillment in Jesus, and it still functions as a moral standard for every Born-Again Christian to live their life in the love of God (Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:14; 6:2; 1 Corinthians 9:20–21).

Out of all the nations on the Earth, God chose to covenant with Israel. They did not choose to covenant with God. Every person of that individual nation was required to repent just like every person in Nineveh, from the king down to all the citizens, and even all the animals, were required to wear sackcloth, fast and repent, which they did, and God spared them all (Jonah 3). There has never been another nation in the long history of the world or seen in the Bible that had a covenant with God.

The New Covenant that we see promised in the Old Testament texts and made through Jesus is not about a nation but about a community of people who have a steadfast and unyielding faith in God, and the goal of this covenant is not about wealth and prosperity. It is more about the mission of bringing God’s message to the world and for every Born-Again Christian to live as always God intended.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us take time to Pray,

Loving heavenly Father, thank You for Your many precious promises – and Lord, when the storm-clouds of life are thundering in on all sides, help me to trust Your Word and remember the precious promises You have made to all Your children – for Your Word cannot be broken in Jesus name I pray, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.